Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect
James 1
Greeting
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion: greetings.
Trials, Endurance, and Wisdom
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you encounter various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance finish its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to everyone without reproach, and it will be given to you. But ask in faith, without being divided, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all their ways.
The Lowly and the Rich
Let the lowly brother or sister boast in being lifted up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will pass away like a flower in the grass. The sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls and its beauty perishes. In the same way the rich will fade away in the midst of their pursuits.
Enduring the Test
Blessed is the one who endures testing, because after standing the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Desire, Sin, and Death
No one who is being tempted should say, “I am being tempted by God,” because God is not tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when drawn away and enticed by their own desire. Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. By his own will he gave us birth through the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Quick to Hear
Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, because human anger does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filthiness and the abundance of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save you.
Doers of the Word
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, that person is like someone looking at their natural face in a mirror; they look at themselves, go away, and immediately forget what they were like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues in it—not becoming a hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts—will be blessed in what they do.
Pure Religion
If anyone thinks they are religious but does not bridle their tongue and instead deceives their own heart, that person's religion is empty. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.